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  • Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles – An Awesome Game for Linux and Windows

    - by Asian Angel
    Are you looking for a fun new game to add to your Linux or Windows systems? Then Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles could be just the game you are looking for. This awesome game comes with three distinct game modes (Story, Arcade, and Puzzle) to please the gamer within. You will need to select a language when Wind and Water starts up. Use your arrow keys to make your selection and press Enter. There will be a short intro video and then you can begin playing the game. There is a nice Tutorial Mode to help you become familiar with game play. Once you have entered your name you can choose the game mode that you want to play. Have fun as you work your way through the game! Note: Use the four Arrow Keys, the S Key, and the A Key to play Wind and Water. Wind and Water Homepage (Windows Version Download) Download the Linux Versions *Includes installation instructions for non-Ubuntu systems at bottom of the post. [via Ubuntu Vibes] Latest Features How-To Geek ETC Should You Delete Windows 7 Service Pack Backup Files to Save Space? What Can Super Mario Teach Us About Graphics Technology? Windows 7 Service Pack 1 is Released: But Should You Install It? How To Make Hundreds of Complex Photo Edits in Seconds With Photoshop Actions How to Enable User-Specific Wireless Networks in Windows 7 How to Use Google Chrome as Your Default PDF Reader (the Easy Way) Reclaim Vertical UI Space by Moving Your Tabs to the Side in Firefox Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles – An Awesome Game for Linux and Windows How Star Wars Changed the World [Infographic] Tabs Visual Manager Adds Thumbnailed Tab Switching to Chrome Daisies and Rye Swaying in the Summer Wind Wallpaper Read On Phone Pushes Data from Your Desktop to the Appropriate Android App

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  • Help A Hacker: Give ‘Em The Windows Source Code

    - by Ken Cox [MVP]
    The announcement of another Windows megapatch reminded me of a WikiLeaks story about Microsoft Windows that hasn’t attracted much attention. Alarmingly, we learn that the hackers have the Windows source code to study and test for vulnerabilities. Chinese hackers used the knowledge to breach Google’s accounts and servers: “In 2003, the CNITSEC signed a Government Security Program (GSP) international agreement with Microsoft that allowed select companies such as TOPSEC access to Microsoft source code in order to secure the Windows platform” “CNITSEC enterprises has recruited Chinese hackers in support of nationally-funded "network attack scientific research projects." From June 2002 to March 2003, TOPSEC employed a known Chinese hacker, Lin Yong (a.k.a. Lion and owner of the Honker Union of China), as senior security service engineer…” Windows is widely seen as unsecurable. It doesn’t help that Chinese government-funded hackers are probing the source code for vulnerabilities. It seems odd that people who didn’t write the code can find vulnerabilities faster than the owners of the code. Perhaps the U.S. government should hire its own hackers to go over the same Windows source code and then tell Microsoft how to secure its product?

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  • Don’t Sleep Keeps Your Windows Machine Awake

    - by ETC
    Don’t Sleep is an ultra lightweight and portable application that fills a niche need perfect: sometimes you need to temporarily keep your Windows machine from shutting down or power saving without making any permanent changes to your power profile. Fire up portable Don’t Sleep and tell it how long you want it to stop your computer from shutting down, going to sleep (standby/hibernation), and/or keeping the monitor on. At the end of the monitoring period you can have it turn itself off, stay on but stop blocking, or shut down your computer. It’s a great application for those times you need to alter how your computer handles hibernation mode, activating the screensaver, or other automated tasks without making any permanent changes to your power profile or other settings. Hit up the link below to read more and grab a copy. Don’t Sleep is freeware, Windows only. Don’t Sleep [via The Portable Freeware Collection] Latest Features How-To Geek ETC Have You Ever Wondered How Your Operating System Got Its Name? Should You Delete Windows 7 Service Pack Backup Files to Save Space? What Can Super Mario Teach Us About Graphics Technology? Windows 7 Service Pack 1 is Released: But Should You Install It? How To Make Hundreds of Complex Photo Edits in Seconds With Photoshop Actions How to Enable User-Specific Wireless Networks in Windows 7 Access the Options for Your Favorite Extensions Easier in Firefox Don’t Sleep Keeps Your Windows Machine Awake DropSpace Syncs Android Files to Dropbox Field of Poppies Wallpaper The History Of Operating Systems [Infographic] DriveSafe.ly Reads Your Text Messages Aloud

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  • How to get remote firewall administration working with Windows Server Core 2008 R2?

    - by Daniel15
    I'm setting up a Windows Server Core 2008 R2 installation in a VMware virtual machine before setting it up on a live VPS. I've gotten remote administration via MMC working on my computer (a PC running Windows 7) for things like event logs, but I can't seem to get the firewall administration working. No matter what I do, I get the following error mesage: You do not have the correct permissions to open the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security console. You must be a member of the Administrators group or the Network Operators group to perform this task. For more information, contact you system administrator. Error code: 0x5. I've used cmdkey to add valid server credentials on my computer, and enabled remote management with the following commands: netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="remote administration" new enable=yes netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="windows firewall remote management" new enable=yes netsh advfirewall set currentprofile settings remotemanagement enable I am not running on a domain (just a workgroup), this is the only Windows Server 2008 computer I have. I've tried turning off the firewall completely, but remote administration is still failing How do I debug this issue? Does anyone know how to fix it? I found a few forum topics about it (eg. Remotely managing Windows Firewall on Server Core gives access denied (error 0x5) on Windows Server TechCenter) but they didn't help (I've already tried most of the fixes listed).

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  • [MINI HOW-TO] Create Keyboard Shortcuts to Applications in Windows

    - by Asian Angel
    Do you need just one or a few special keyboard shortcuts for your favorite program(s)? A quick modification to program shortcuts will get you up and running without installing additional software. Creating New Keyboard Shortcuts Go to the start menu shortcut for the program, right-click on it, and select properties. When the properties window opens click in the shortcut key text area. All that you need to do is choose an appropriate letter for the program (i.e. O for Opera, E for Editra, etc.) and type it in the blank. You will not need to type any other keys or combination in…the “Ctrl + Alt +” will be automatically entered for you as soon as you type the letter in. Click OK to finish creating the new keyboard shortcut. Those new keyboard shortcuts will speed up access to your favorite software. Another example from our system using “I” for Iron Browser. Certainly much quicker than using the start menu. Conclusion If you only need one or just a few special keyboard shortcuts then this method provides a quick and simple solution. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Show Keyboard Shortcut Access Keys in Windows VistaUse the Windows Key for the "Start" Menu in Ubuntu LinuxCreate Custom Windows Key Keyboard Shortcuts in WindowsHow-To Geek on Lifehacker: Control Your Computer with Shortcuts & Speed Up Vista SetupKeyboard Ninja: 21 Keyboard Shortcut Articles TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips CloudBerry Online Backup 1.5 for Windows Home Server Snagit 10 VMware Workstation 7 Acronis Online Backup Windows Firewall with Advanced Security – How To Guides Sculptris 1.0, 3D Drawing app AceStock, a Tiny Desktop Quote Monitor Gmail Button Addon (Firefox) Hyperwords addon (Firefox) Backup Outlook 2010

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  • Windows 2008 R2 SMB / CIFS Logging to diagnose Brother MFC Network Scanning

    - by Steven Potter
    I am attempting to setup network scanning on a brother MFC-9970CDW printer. According to the Brother documentation, the printer is setup to connect to any CIFS network share. I applied all of the appropriate setting in the printer however I get a "sending error" when I try to scan a document. When I look at the logs of the 2008 R2 server that I am attempting to connect to; I can see in the security log where the printer successfully authenticates, however nothing else is logged. I would assume that immediately after the authentication, the printer is making a CIFS request and some sort of error is occurring, however I can't seem to find any way to log this information to find out what is going on. Is it possible to get Windows 2008 to log SMB/CIFS traffic? Followup: I installed Microsoft netmon and captured the packets associated with the transaction: 510 3:04:28 PM 7/9/2012 34.4277743 System 192.168.1.134 192.168.1.10 SMB SMB:C; Negotiate, Dialect = NT LM 0.12 {SMBOverTCP:30, TCP:29, IPv4:22} 511 3:04:28 PM 7/9/2012 34.4281246 System 192.168.1.10 192.168.1.134 SMB SMB:R; Negotiate, Dialect is NT LM 0.12 (#0), SpnegoToken (1.3.6.1.5.5.2) {SMBOverTCP:30, TCP:29, IPv4:22} 519 3:04:29 PM 7/9/2012 34.8986214 System 192.168.1.134 192.168.1.10 SMB SMB:C; Session Setup Andx, NTLM NEGOTIATE MESSAGE {SMBOverTCP:30, TCP:29, IPv4:22} 520 3:04:29 PM 7/9/2012 34.8989310 System 192.168.1.10 192.168.1.134 SMB SMB:R; Session Setup Andx, NTLM CHALLENGE MESSAGE - NT Status: System - Error, Code = (22) STATUS_MORE_PROCESSING_REQUIRED {SMBOverTCP:30, TCP:29, IPv4:22} 522 3:04:29 PM 7/9/2012 34.9022870 System 192.168.1.134 192.168.1.10 SMB SMB:C; Session Setup Andx, NTLM AUTHENTICATE MESSAGEVersion:v2, Domain: CORP, User: PRINTSUPOFF, Workstation: BRN001BA9AD1FE6 {SMBOverTCP:30, TCP:29, IPv4:22} 523 3:04:29 PM 7/9/2012 34.9032421 System 192.168.1.10 192.168.1.134 SMB SMB:R; Session Setup Andx {SMBOverTCP:30, TCP:29, IPv4:22} 525 3:04:29 PM 7/9/2012 34.9051855 System 192.168.1.134 192.168.1.10 SMB SMB:C; Tree Connect Andx, Path = \\192.168.1.10\IPC$, Service = ????? {SMBOverTCP:30, TCP:29, IPv4:22} 526 3:04:29 PM 7/9/2012 34.9053083 System 192.168.1.10 192.168.1.134 SMB SMB:R; Tree Connect Andx, Service = IPC {SMBOverTCP:30, TCP:29, IPv4:22} 528 3:04:29 PM 7/9/2012 34.9073573 System 192.168.1.134 192.168.1.10 DFSC DFSC:Get DFS Referral Request, FileName: \\192.168.1.10\NSCFILES, MaxReferralLevel: 3 {SMB:33, SMBOverTCP:30, TCP:29, IPv4:22} 529 3:04:29 PM 7/9/2012 34.9152042 System 192.168.1.10 192.168.1.134 SMB SMB:R; Transact2, Get Dfs Referral - NT Status: System - Error, Code = (549) STATUS_NOT_FOUND {SMB:33, SMBOverTCP:30, TCP:29, IPv4:22} 531 3:04:29 PM 7/9/2012 34.9169738 System 192.168.1.134 192.168.1.10 SMB SMB:C; Tree Disconnect {SMBOverTCP:30, TCP:29, IPv4:22} 532 3:04:29 PM 7/9/2012 34.9170688 System 192.168.1.10 192.168.1.134 SMB SMB:R; Tree Disconnect {SMBOverTCP:30, TCP:29, IPv4:22} As you can see, the DFS referral fails and the transaction is shut down. I can't see any reason for the DFS referral to fail. The only reference I can find online is: https://bugzilla.samba.org/show_bug.cgi?id=8003 Anyone have any ideas for a solution?

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  • Windows Azure Learning Plan - Application Fabric

    - by BuckWoody
    This is one in a series of posts on a Windows Azure Learning Plan. You can find the main post here. This one deals with the Application Fabric for Windows Azure. It serves three main purposes - Access Control, Caching, and as a Service Bus.   Overview and Training Overview and general  information about the Azure Application Fabric, - what it is, how it works, and where you can learn more. General Introduction and Overview http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee922714.aspx Access Control Service Overview http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/gg490345.aspx Microsoft Documentation http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/windowsazure/netservices.aspx Learning and Examples Sources for online and other Azure Appllications Fabric training Application Fabric SDK http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=39856a03-1490-4283-908f-c8bf0bfad8a5&displaylang=en Application Fabric Caching Service Primer http://blogs.msdn.com/b/appfabriccat/archive/2010/11/29/azure-appfabric-caching-service-soup-to-nuts-primer.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0 Hands-On Lab: Building Windows Azure Applications with the Caching Service http://www.wadewegner.com/2010/11/hands-on-lab-building-windows-azure-applications-with-the-caching-service/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WadeWegner+%28Wade+Wegner+-+Technical%29 Architecture  Azure Application Fabric Internals and Architectures for Scale Out and other use-cases. Azure Application Fabric Architecture Guide http://blogs.msdn.com/b/yasserabdelkader/archive/2010/09/12/release-of-windows-server-appfabric-architecture-guide.aspx Windows Azure AppFabric Service Bus - A Deep Dive (Video) http://www.msteched.com/2010/Europe/ASI410 Access Control Service (ACS) High Level Architecture http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alikl/archive/2010/09/28/azure-appfabric-access-control-service-acs-v-2-0-high-level-architecture-web-application-scenario.aspx Applications  and Programming Programming Patterns and Architectures for SQL Azure systems. Various Examples from PDC 2010 on using Azure Application as a Service Bus http://tinyurl.com/2dcnt8o Creating a Distributed Cache using the Application Fabric http://blog.structuretoobig.com/post/2010/08/31/Creating-a-Poor-Mane28099s-Distributed-Cache-in-Azure.aspx  Azure Application Fabric Java SDK http://jdotnetservices.com/

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  • How to fix Failed to initialize Windows Azure storage emulator error

    - by ybbest
    When you press F5 to start debugging Azure project, you might get the following exception: If you go to the Output windows, you will see the detailed error message below: Windows Azure Tools: Failed to initialize Windows Azure storage emulator. Unable to start Development Storage. Failed to start Development Storage: the SQL Server instance ‘localhost\SQLExpress’ could not be found. Please configure the SQL Server instance for Development Storage using the ‘DSInit’ utility in the Windows Azure SDK. This is because by default, Azure uses the SQLExpress to start Development Storage. To fix this you can do the following: You need to open command prompt, and navigate to C:\Program Files\Windows Azure SDK\v1.4\bin\devstore (depending on your Azure version, the file path is slightly different.) Next, run DSInit /sqlInstance:. (. Means the SQL Server use the default instance, if you have name instance, you need to change. to the name of the SQL Server) After a short while, you should see the following windows showing the configuration succeeds. You can download a batch file here. References: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg433132.aspx

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  • UAC being turned off once a day on Windows 7

    - by Mehper C. Palavuzlar
    I have strange problem on my HP laptop. This began to happen recently. Whenever I start my machine, Windows 7 Action Center displays the following warning: You need to restart your computer for UAC to be turned off. Actually, this does not happen if it happened once on a specific day. For example, when I start the machine in the morning, it shows up; but it never shows up in the subsequent restarts within that day. On the next day, the same thing happens again. I never disable UAC, but obviously some rootkit or virus causes this. As soon as I get this warning, I head for the UAC settings, and re-enable UAC to dismiss this warning. This is a bothersome situation as I can't fix it. First, I have run a full scan on the computer for any probable virus and malware/rootkit activity, but TrendMicro OfficeScan said that no viruses have been found. I went to an old Restore Point using Windows System Restore, but the problem was not solved. What I have tried so far (which couldn't find the rootkit): TrendMicro OfficeScan Antivirus AVAST Malwarebytes' Anti-malware Ad-Aware Vipre Antivirus GMER TDSSKiller (Kaspersky Labs) HiJackThis RegRuns UnHackMe SuperAntiSpyware Portable Tizer Rootkit Razor (*) Sophos Anti-Rootkit SpyHunter 4 There are no other strange activities on the machine. Everything works fine except this bizarre incident. What could be the name of this annoying rootkit? How can I detect and remove it? EDIT: Below is the log file generated by HijackThis: Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.4 Scan saved at 13:07:04, on 17.01.2011 Platform: Windows 7 (WinNT 6.00.3504) MSIE: Internet Explorer v8.00 (8.00.7600.16700) Boot mode: Normal Running processes: C:\Windows\system32\taskhost.exe C:\Windows\system32\Dwm.exe C:\Windows\Explorer.EXE C:\Program Files\CheckPoint\SecuRemote\bin\SR_GUI.Exe C:\Windows\System32\igfxtray.exe C:\Windows\System32\hkcmd.exe C:\Windows\system32\igfxsrvc.exe C:\Windows\System32\igfxpers.exe C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Wireless Assistant\HPWAMain.exe C:\Program Files\Synaptics\SynTP\SynTPEnh.exe C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Quick Launch Buttons\QLBCTRL.exe C:\Program Files\Analog Devices\Core\smax4pnp.exe C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Quick Launch Buttons\VolCtrl.exe C:\Program Files\LightningFAX\LFclient\lfsndmng.exe C:\Program Files\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Communicator\communicator.exe C:\Program Files\Iron Mountain\Connected BackupPC\Agent.exe C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\OfficeScan Client\PccNTMon.exe C:\Program Files\Microsoft LifeCam\LifeExp.exe C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\Shared\HpqToaster.exe C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe C:\Program Files\mimio\mimio Studio\system\aps_tablet\atwtusb.exe C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\OUTLOOK.EXE C:\Program Files\Babylon\Babylon-Pro\Babylon.exe C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe C:\Users\userx\Desktop\HijackThis.exe R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896 R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = about:blank R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157 R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896 R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896 R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157 R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant = R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch = R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings,AutoConfigURL = http://www.yaysat.com.tr/proxy/proxy.pac R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName = O2 - BHO: AcroIEHelperStub - {18DF081C-E8AD-4283-A596-FA578C2EBDC3} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll O2 - BHO: Babylon IE plugin - {9CFACCB6-2F3F-4177-94EA-0D2B72D384C1} - C:\Program Files\Babylon\Babylon-Pro\Utils\BabylonIEPI.dll O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [IgfxTray] C:\Windows\system32\igfxtray.exe O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HotKeysCmds] C:\Windows\system32\hkcmd.exe O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Persistence] C:\Windows\system32\igfxpers.exe O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [hpWirelessAssistant] C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Wireless Assistant\HPWAMain.exe O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SynTPEnh] C:\Program Files\Synaptics\SynTP\SynTPEnh.exe O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QlbCtrl.exe] C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Quick Launch Buttons\QlbCtrl.exe /Start O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SoundMAXPnP] C:\Program Files\Analog Devices\Core\smax4pnp.exe O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe Reader Speed Launcher] "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe" O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe ARM] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARM.exe" O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [lfsndmng] C:\Program Files\LightningFAX\LFclient\LFSNDMNG.EXE O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe" O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Communicator] "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Communicator\communicator.exe" /fromrunkey O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AgentUiRunKey] "C:\Program Files\Iron Mountain\Connected BackupPC\Agent.exe" -ni -sss -e http://localhost:16386/ O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [OfficeScanNT Monitor] "C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\OfficeScan Client\pccntmon.exe" -HideWindow O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Babylon Client] C:\Program Files\Babylon\Babylon-Pro\Babylon.exe -AutoStart O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [LifeCam] "C:\Program Files\Microsoft LifeCam\LifeExp.exe" O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Sidebar] C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe /autoRun O4 - Global Startup: mimio Studio.lnk = C:\Program Files\mimio\mimio Studio\mimiosys.exe O8 - Extra context menu item: Microsoft Excel'e &Ver - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~1\Office12\EXCEL.EXE/3000 O8 - Extra context menu item: Translate this web page with Babylon - res://C:\Program Files\Babylon\Babylon-Pro\Utils\BabylonIEPI.dll/ActionTU.htm O8 - Extra context menu item: Translate with Babylon - res://C:\Program Files\Babylon\Babylon-Pro\Utils\BabylonIEPI.dll/Action.htm O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~1\Office12\REFIEBAR.DLL O9 - Extra button: Translate this web page with Babylon - {F72841F0-4EF1-4df5-BCE5-B3AC8ACF5478} - C:\Program Files\Babylon\Babylon-Pro\Utils\BabylonIEPI.dll O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Translate this web page with Babylon - {F72841F0-4EF1-4df5-BCE5-B3AC8ACF5478} - C:\Program Files\Babylon\Babylon-Pro\Utils\BabylonIEPI.dll O16 - DPF: {00134F72-5284-44F7-95A8-52A619F70751} (ObjWinNTCheck Class) - https://172.20.12.103:4343/officescan/console/html/ClientInstall/WinNTChk.cab O16 - DPF: {08D75BC1-D2B5-11D1-88FC-0080C859833B} (OfficeScan Corp Edition Web-Deployment SetupCtrl Class) - https://172.20.12.103:4343/officescan/console/html/ClientInstall/setup.cab O17 - HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip\Parameters: Domain = yaysat.com O17 - HKLM\Software\..\Telephony: DomainName = yaysat.com O17 - HKLM\System\CS1\Services\Tcpip\Parameters: Domain = yaysat.com O17 - HKLM\System\CS2\Services\Tcpip\Parameters: Domain = yaysat.com O18 - Protocol: qcom - {B8DBD265-42C3-43E6-B439-E968C71984C6} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Quest Shared\CodeXpert\qcom.dll O22 - SharedTaskScheduler: FencesShellExt - {1984DD45-52CF-49cd-AB77-18F378FEA264} - C:\Program Files\Stardock\Fences\FencesMenu.dll O23 - Service: Andrea ADI Filters Service (AEADIFilters) - Andrea Electronics Corporation - C:\Windows\system32\AEADISRV.EXE O23 - Service: AgentService - Iron Mountain Incorporated - C:\Program Files\Iron Mountain\Connected BackupPC\AgentService.exe O23 - Service: Agere Modem Call Progress Audio (AgereModemAudio) - LSI Corporation - C:\Program Files\LSI SoftModem\agrsmsvc.exe O23 - Service: BMFMySQL - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Quest Software\Benchmark Factory for Databases\Repository\MySQL\bin\mysqld-max-nt.exe O23 - Service: Com4QLBEx - Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. - C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Quick Launch Buttons\Com4QLBEx.exe O23 - Service: hpqwmiex - Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. - C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\Shared\hpqwmiex.exe O23 - Service: OfficeScanNT RealTime Scan (ntrtscan) - Trend Micro Inc. - C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\OfficeScan Client\ntrtscan.exe O23 - Service: SMS Task Sequence Agent (smstsmgr) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\CCM\TSManager.exe O23 - Service: Check Point VPN-1 Securemote service (SR_Service) - Check Point Software Technologies - C:\Program Files\CheckPoint\SecuRemote\bin\SR_Service.exe O23 - Service: Check Point VPN-1 Securemote watchdog (SR_Watchdog) - Check Point Software Technologies - C:\Program Files\CheckPoint\SecuRemote\bin\SR_Watchdog.exe O23 - Service: Trend Micro Unauthorized Change Prevention Service (TMBMServer) - Trend Micro Inc. - C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\OfficeScan Client\..\BM\TMBMSRV.exe O23 - Service: OfficeScan NT Listener (tmlisten) - Trend Micro Inc. - C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\OfficeScan Client\tmlisten.exe O23 - Service: OfficeScan NT Proxy Service (TmProxy) - Trend Micro Inc. - C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\OfficeScan Client\TmProxy.exe O23 - Service: VNC Server Version 4 (WinVNC4) - RealVNC Ltd. - C:\Program Files\RealVNC\VNC4\WinVNC4.exe -- End of file - 8204 bytes As suggested in this very similar question, I have run full scans (+boot time scans) with RegRun and UnHackMe, but they also did not find anything. I have carefully examined all entries in the Event Viewer, but there's nothing wrong. Now I know that there is a hidden trojan (rootkit) on my machine which seems to disguise itself quite successfully. Note that I don't have the chance to remove the HDD, or reinstall the OS as this is a work machine subjected to certain IT policies on a company domain. Despite all my attempts, the problem still remains. I strictly need a to-the-point method or a pukka rootkit remover to remove whatever it is. I don't want to monkey with the system settings, i.e. disabling auto runs one by one, messing the registry, etc. EDIT 2: I have found an article which is closely related to my trouble: Malware can turn off UAC in Windows 7; “By design” says Microsoft. Special thanks(!) to Microsoft. In the article, a VBScript code is given to disable UAC automatically: '// 1337H4x Written by _____________ '// (12 year old) Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell") '// Toggle Start menu WshShell.SendKeys("^{ESC}") WScript.Sleep(500) '// Search for UAC applet WshShell.SendKeys("change uac") WScript.Sleep(2000) '// Open the applet (assuming second result) WshShell.SendKeys("{DOWN}") WshShell.SendKeys("{DOWN}") WshShell.SendKeys("{ENTER}") WScript.Sleep(2000) '// Set UAC level to lowest (assuming out-of-box Default setting) WshShell.SendKeys("{TAB}") WshShell.SendKeys("{DOWN}") WshShell.SendKeys("{DOWN}") WshShell.SendKeys("{DOWN}") '// Save our changes WshShell.SendKeys("{TAB}") WshShell.SendKeys("{ENTER}") '// TODO: Add code to handle installation of rebound '// process to continue exploitation, i.e. place something '// evil in Startup folder '// Reboot the system '// WshShell.Run "shutdown /r /f" Unfortunately, that doesn't tell me how I can get rid of this malicious code running on my system. EDIT 3: Last night, I left the laptop open because of a running SQL task. When I came in the morning, I saw that UAC was turned off. So, I suspect that the problem is not related to startup. It is happening once a day for sure no matter if the machine is rebooted.

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  • Deploy code to Windows Azure from Dropbox

    - by Gopinath
    There is a lot of innovation happening at Windows Azure team these days under the leadership of ScottGu. The recent updates to Windows Azure published couple of days ago allows us to deploy code to Windows Azure websites straight from Dropbox. It’s very easy and simple to use. Authorize Windows Azure account to talk to Dropbox and whenever you want to deploy latest code from Dropbox just click it button. Boom! The latest code from Dropbox will be automatically deployed on Windows Azure. Everything works like magic. Wow, isn’t this a cool feature for those who don’t want to maintain their version control systems like Git, Svn or TFS? This is a big deal to many developers who maintain their personal websites source code on Dropbox. Wondering why developers maintain their source code in Dropbox? It’s easy to use Dropbox(zero learning curve) and setting up a source control systems demands lot of administrative activities as well as money for hosting them. Here is a quick walk through of deploying code to Windows Azure from Dropbox. Though I’m not going to user this feature for deploying code of my website coziie.com (I’ve a personal SVN server hosted), I’m going to recommend to all my friends who maintain their source code on Dropbox.  For more details read the detailed post on ScottGu’s blog.

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  • How to dual-boot Windows XP & Ubuntu 12.04

    - by user115554
    When I install Ubuntu 12.04 along side Windows XP, I encountered a choice for "Device for boot loader installation". I selected "Windows XP Professional" Now, when I select Windows XP from the grub, it appeares a black page and Windwos dosent boot. I tried Boot-Repair from Ubuntu but it dosent solve this problem. The only thing that helps me to boot Windwos XP is a Bootable CD of Windows. when I put this CD and boot from CD, it shows some options and when I select "Boot from Hard Drive" , my own Windows boots! Here's is a snippet from the bootinfoscript report: ============================= Boot Info Summary: =============================== => Grub2 (v1.99) is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks at sector 1 of the same hard drive for core.img. core.img is at this location and looks for (,msdos5)/boot/grub on this drive. sda1: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: ntfs Boot sector type: Grub2 (v1.99-2.00) Boot sector info: Grub2 (v1.99-2.00) is installed in the boot sector of sda1 and looks at sector 525709174 of the same hard drive for core.img, but core.img can not be found at this location. No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block. Boot file info: Grub2 (v1.97-1.98) in the file /mbr_backup.log looks at sector 1 of the same hard drive for core.img, but core.img can not be found at this location. Operating System: Windows XP Boot files: /boot.ini /ntldr /NTDETECT.COM

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  • Apple Co-founder Wozniak: Windows Phone is more beautiful and intuitive than Android

    - by Gopinath
    It’s a great day for Microsoft and Nokia who are working hard to resurrect Windows Phone. Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple and gadget lover, has all praise for Windows Phone after using Nokia Lumia 900 for a while. He shared his experience of using Lumia powered by Windows Phone 7.5 in a interview and he is very impressed. Here are the few good quotes from the interview Just for looks and beauty, I definitely favor the Windows 7 Phone over Android. I’m kinda shocked how every screen is much more beautiful than the same apps on Android and iPhone. I’m just shocked, I haven’t seen anything yet that isn’t more beautiful than the other platforms. It’s more intuitive and beautiful. This is going to change the perception of Windows Phone  which is seen  as “not-so good” operating system for mobiles.  Along with these high profile endorsements, if Microsoft can manage to attract developers in building good apps then Windows Phone is going to be a fitting competitor to iOS and Android. via aNewDomain

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  • Why is Samba Access from Windows So Slow?

    - by swalker2001
    I have set up a file server using Ubuntu 12.04 Server. The purpose is to serve several network drives to Windows users that have heretofore been served by numerous NAS drives. I have Samba set up with one share defined so far. I can connect to it fine from my test Windows 7 and Windows XP machines. When I do a directory listing on the share from Windows, it can take up to two minutes to get all the files listed--would have taken about 1.5 seconds when I was using the Buffalo NAS. Sometimes it times out with no response at all. I have used the default smb.conf and simply added the following for the share I have set up so far: [engineering] comment = Ubuntu File Server Share path = /networkdriveshares/engineering browsable = yes guest ok = yes read only = no create mask = 0755 I have tried changing the workgroup setting to the Active Domain name our Windows computer use but didn't notice any difference. The only other change I made to the default smb.conf was adding in the recommended socket settings: SO_RCVBUF=8192 SO_SNDBUF=8192 socket options = TCP_NODELAY Lots of information about slow Samba shares online but I have tried all of the solutions I have found and none have made a lick of difference. If there is no solution, is there a better way to set up a file server to be used by Windows clients?

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  • How should I deal with user agent parsing in logs?

    - by Mr. Jefferson
    My web app project includes logging functionality so we can see where visitors are coming from (referrer URL), what the popular user agents are, what pages are most popular, etc. The log is stored in SQL Server, and when I query the user agents I use a large (almost 100 lines) and growing CASE statement to separate the user agents using string matching (i.e. if the user agent contains the string "Firefox/9" then it's Firefox 9). Is there a better way to do this so I don't have to continually add to that CASE statement to deal with new browser releases? Also, how should I deal with less common, weird/unknown user agents? I've seen the following in the logs and been unable to find good information online about what they are: WordPress/3.3.1; http://www.facecolony.org Mozilla/4.0 ( http://www.hairirons.org redips; <a href=http://hairirons.org/>chi hair iron</a>) I'd guess they're bots/crawlers, but the sites they point to don't appear to reference web crawlers (or even be available sometimes). I've seen other user agents aren't familiar to me, but I know they're bots because they include "bot" or "spider" or something similar in them.

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  • no aparece grub con gpt windows/ubuntu

    - by user100604
    I have an asus k55VM. The problem is that once done the partitions to install windows 7 finalize you and then ubuntu 12.10 the grub not to appear. On having created the table of partitions with gparted I did it in format msdos but then on having installed windows gently accepted me and he says to me that I must do it with format gpt therefore I erase the disc in the assistant of installation and believe a partition of 160 gb Later between with live CD to ubuntu and believe other partitions between which, one ext4 for ubuntu... I install and restart. On having restarted the grub does not go out but if the partitions appear of windows. To seeing if someone helps me am desperate. Thank you very much Tengo un asus k55VM. El problema es que una vez hechas las particiones instalar windows 7 ultimate y luego ubuntu 12.10 no aparece el grub. Al crear la tabla de particiones con gparted lo hice en formato msdos pero luego al instalar windows no me acepta y me dice que debo hacerlo con formato gpt por lo tanto borro el disco en el asistente de instalacion y creo una particion de 160 gb Posteriormente entre con live cd a ubuntu y creo otras particiones entre las cuales, un ext4 para ubuntu... Instalo y reinicio. Al reiniciar no sale el grub pero si aparecen las particiones de windows. A ver si alguien me ayuda estoy desesperado. Muchas gracias

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  • Help with dual booting Windows 8.1 Professional and Ubuntu 13.10

    - by user1292548
    I recently installed a clean version of Windows 8.1 Professional on my Lenovo Y500 (with Samsung 256GB 840 Pro SSD). I have Windows all set up and running normally. I am trying to dual boot Windows 8.1 and Ubuntu 13.10, but the installation procedure don't allow me to either "Install alongside..." or shows my SSD partitions correctly when I chose the "Something Else" option. I have created a 25GB partition of free space in the Windows disk manager, but on the installation screen on Ubuntu, it shows the whole drive as a free space. I have tried installing with a burned .ISO disk and a bootable USB, the results are the same for both. Windows Disk Management screen: http://imageshack.us/a/img855/9504/59zu.jpg The Ubuntu installation screen: http://imageshack.us/a/img62/2712/9g6i.jpg I've ran into this problem before when trying to dual boot Ubuntu and Windows 7 Professional a month ago. But I gave up and never resolved the issue. --EDIT-- I tried what Eero Aaltonen suggested, and this is my result: ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo parted /dev/sda print Warning: /dev/sda contains GPT signatures, indicating that it has a GPT table. However, it does not have a valid fake msdos partition table, as it should. Perhaps it was corrupted -- possibly by a program that doesn't understand GPT partition tables. Or perhaps you deleted the GPT table, and are now using an msdos partition table. Is this a GPT partition table? Yes/No? yes Model: ATA Samsung SSD 840 (scsi) Disk /dev/sda: 256GB Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B Partition Table: gpt Number Start End Size File system Name Flags ubuntu@ubuntu:~$

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  • Dual booted Windows 7 freezes after login screen

    - by Cathal
    First-time Linux user, using a Packard Bell Easy Note TS laptop. My problem arose after I dual boot installed Ubuntu 12.04 on Windows 7 via WUBI. I backed up all my data, and reinstalled Windows from factory settings on the recovery partition. When I first tried to install Ubuntu I mistakenly closed the lid at the start of the installation, stopping it. After that I rebooted, and my second installation attempt went without a hitch. Ubuntu works perfectly, the data on the partitions seem to be fine. My problem is I can't log back in to Windows 7. After selecting it in GRUB, and then in the Windows 7/ WUBI choice on boot, it loads up perfectly til the user log in screen. After the password is inputted, it stalls on the "Welcome" busy screen. This happens in Safe mode as well. Startup repair can't find a problem and neither can CHKDSK. System restore and Last known good config have no effect either. If anyone could help me out, I'd be real grateful. edit in response to the question below, since I don't know how to comment: Windows was installed first and its partitions are the first on the list. Should I move the windows partitions to after the Linux ones on the disk? Thanks for your help.

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  • How to configure KDE default settings for a new user of a group?

    - by Adobe
    I'm a sys admin on Kubuntu 11.10 machine. Where do I configure the basic config for a new user (say belonging to group "users")? Edit 1: I want to configure langauages - currently my new users get English and Bulgarian Languages. I want them to get English and Russian - and also to set Alt-CapsLock - to be the input-language-switching-combination. Edit 2: How do I configure things in /usr/share/kde4 When I do kdesudo systemsettings and save configurations - only root settings got changed - not the /usr/share/kde4 ones. Edit 3: New user gets the /etc/skel files controlling bash behaviour-appearence. What about the KDE new user's default files - where are they stored? Edit 4: Oh, I found some hints: kde4-config --path config gives a list of folders (separated by the colon) where KDE looks for configs. My machine responded with: /home/boris/.kde/share/config/ /etc/kde4/ /usr/share/kubuntu-default-settings/kde4-profile/default/share/config/ /usr/share/kde4/config/ /usr/share/desktop-base/profiles/kde-profile/share/config/ It looks like third line is where KDE takes the default options. So I found these zilions of settings - but no GUI way to configure it ((. Edit 5: Finally, I've created a dummy user, configured it, and wrote a script which gives it's settings to a given user(s). The trick - is to chown after one transfered the dot files from one user to another. I've tested it - it works fine.

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  • 'The rpc server is unavailable' or 'access is denied' error when using Remote desktop Services Manager on Windows 7 (but mstsc.exe works!)

    - by tbone
    I am trying to connect to a Windows XP workstation from a Windows 7 Ultimate workstation using Remote Desktop Services Manager. I am able to do a Remote Desktop (mstsc.exe) session from the Win7 machine to the WinXP machine with no problem at all. When running the Remote Desktops Admin (tsmmc.msc) too on a Windows XP box, I can also connect with no problem. However, when I use the new Remote Desktop Services Manager on Windows 7 and try to connect, I get the error: "The rpc server is unavailable" What could cause this? Has there been some fundamental change in Remote Desktop Services Manager, does it connect in a different way somehow? Update #1 Turned off firewall on the Windows XP box and the "The rpc server is unavailable" error went away; so RDSM seems to be using an entirely new port/connection/service compared to mstsc.exe or the old Remote Desktops Admin tool. Now... after disabling the firewall, I get a new error: Access is Denied. After doing some googling, I found some articles discussing this; basically, the error is very misleading - the actual problem is, if either side of the connection has dual monitors, and they are not both Win7 Ultimate, then you cannot connect using Remote Desktop Services Manager...the reason is, by default it uses the /multimon switch, and this switch requires a certain level of Windows license - and, there seems to be no way of changing this default (if anyone knows of a way to change this default, please post an answer or comment!). Nice going Microsoft. http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsserver2008r2rds/thread/4d06278f-e0f4-4f8e-a8e1-3697ee967ef4 http://www.experts-exchange.com/OS/Microsoft_Operating_Systems/Windows/Windows_7/Q_26225743.html

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  • Are Windows partitions gone?

    - by Gigili
    I had Windows 7 on my laptop (factory setting), because of some performance issues, I decided to use recovery options to restore it to its factory condition but I don't know what has happened or what I have done that the whole operating system was gone after playing around with recovery options from the boot menu. I couldn't find Windows, so I installed Ubuntu 11.04 on my laptop. Last time I had Ubuntu on it, it was not really compatible with laptop's configuration and I had a bit of problems trying to do normal tasks I used to do on Windows. Now I want to make sure that Windows and its drivers are gone so that I can try to install a newer version of Ubuntu or Windows. I tried the command sudo fdisk -l And the result shown was: myaccount@myaccount-VPCS116FG:~$ sudo fdisk -l [sudo] password for myaccount: Disk /dev/sda: 320.1 GB, 320072933376 bytes 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk identifier: 0x00025b5f Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/sda1 * 1 38409 308515840 83 Linux /dev/sda2 38409 38914 4052993 5 Extended /dev/sda5 38409 38914 4052992 82 Linux swap / Solaris Disk /dev/dm-0: 4150 MB, 4150263808 bytes 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 504 cylinders Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk identifier: 0xa668cfe8 Disk /dev/dm-0 doesn't contain a valid partition table Is it gone? If not, what command should I try to have access to Windows partitions? Thank you.

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  • Partitions for dual boot install with Windows

    - by Tim
    Following is the layout of the current partitions of my single hard drive viewed from Windows 7: C: has Windows 7 system files and my personal data; Q: for Lenovo recovery; SYSTEM_DRV: for Windows boot files; My goals are: to create another partition D: for my personal data, and dedicate C: for Windows system files and applications only. to install Ubuntu alongside Windows. D: will be shared between the two OSes. My questions are: Is it correct that the free space generated from shrinking C: will only be able to create an extended partition, since there are already 3 primary partitions? So must D: be one logical partition on the extended partition, just as the partitions for Ubuntu will be? Will this be bad sometime? If yes, other better solutions? What are the good utilities to accomplish the partition tasks? Can Ubuntu installer solely handle them? Or better to have some of the jobs done in Windows with some recommended softwares? Thanks and regards!

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  • I have Ubuntu only and need to install Windows

    - by Terzuz
    I had Windows 8, I installed Ubuntu for a new OS, Then I want to sadly go back to Windows , I have a Windows Vista *.iso but I can't boot from it. When I try to extract the '.iso file and have the contents on my USB so it can boot up , When I restart and click F9 for my Boot Device Options , Only my Hard Drive and CD ROM are there but my "Generic Flash Drive" is not , But when I do not have Windows Vista '.iso on it , It will show up in the list. How can I make a partition of some sort, Provide instructions since I am new at this all , then I need to be able to use the Windows Vista installer and install Windows Vista, I would like Dual-Boot if possible. Info: I have the HP 2000 Laptop (Mine was removed from the Best Buy Website so the closest laptop to the specifications and the design is the link at the bottom) I am running Ubuntu 12.10. I have 4GB of RAM , 220 GB in my Hard Drive left , I have a USB Flash Drive which works sometimes , other times it fails. Note - I tried using GParted in Ubuntu but I had a problem where the main drive with 220 GB Free was locked , I am not sure what to do and can not find the correct forum. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+15.6"+Laptop+-+4GB+Memory+-+320GB+Hard+Drive+-+Pewter/5043836.p?id=1218608951204&skuId=5043836

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  • Cannot find GRUB - Ubuntu/Windows 8 dual-boot

    - by ubeatlenine
    Hello Ubuntu community, I find myself in an interesting situation. I have a Dell Inspiron 531 with Windows Vista. Recently my brother decided it would be a good idea to overwrite Vista with the Windows 8 consumer preview. Since we have had this PC for a very long time, we have long since lost the Vista CD, and according to the Windows 8 preview website you cannot recover your previous OS without it. I thought this would be a good opportunity to try out Ubuntu (since we obviously cannot keep the preview as an OS), but it appears that Ubuntu 11.10 Desktop is not compatible with Win8. Ubuntu doesn't run from the LiveUSB I made, instead it freezes on the loading screen and then disintegrates into black and white stripes. I blamed this failure on Ubuntu not being compatible with win8 yet and tried to install Ubuntu from the USB on a partition made from the remaining space on my hard drive - about 100GB. However the installer crashed while loading modules and told me I didn't have enough disk space. Since then, I have not been able to load either Ubuntu or Windows, BIOS is shifted over to the left of my screen, and I always get the same message: error: unknown filesystem grub rescue> typing "ls" at the prompt gives me the following: (hd0) (hd0,msdos7) (hd0,msdos6) (hd0,msdos5) (hd0,msdos2) (hd0,msdos1) does this mean I have multiple partitions running windows on my computer? Is it possible to recover Vista without the disk? Are all of my problems stemming from Ubuntu not being compatible with Win8 preview? (I realize the majority of my questions are about Windows, but seeing as the prompt I get is for grub I thought I would ask here first.) Any insight anyone has on this predicament would be greatly appreciated.

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  • Problem installing Ubuntu 14.04 into a laptop using Windows 8.1

    - by AlexanderFreud
    I have used Ubuntu on my LG laptop for several years. I lately bought an Acer Aspire V5 laptop which included Windows 8.1. I don't have any data on it; I would like to just remove it completely (that horrible Windows 8.1) and install Ubuntu. I tried using a USB device with Ubuntu 14.04 (64bit version) saved on it. I changed the BIOS configuration, putting USB device first on boot order, Windows Boot Manager last. When I try to run with USB device it doesn't work. Messages like these show up: System doesn't have any USB boot option. Please select other boot option in Boot Manager Menu. Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem: 1. insert your windows installation disc and restart your computer 2. choose your language settings, and then click "next" 3. click "repair your computer" If you do not have this disk, contact your system administrator manufacturer for assistance File \ubuntu\winboot\wubildr.mbr Status: 0xc000007b Info: the application or operating system couldn't be load...[?] required file is missing or contains errors. Could someone please write step-by-step procedures to install Ubuntu 14.04 after removing Windows 8.1 ? I already have done a second partition on the hard disk just in case.

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  • Agile: User Stories for Machine Learning Project?

    - by benjismith
    I've just finished up with a prototype implementation of a supervised learning algorithm, automatically assigning categorical tags to all the items in our company database (roughly 5 million items). The results look good, and I've been given the go-ahead to plan the production implementation project. I've done this kind of work before, so I know how the functional components of the software. I need a collection of web crawlers to fetch data. I need to extract features from the crawled documents. Those documents need to be segregated into a "training set" and a "classification set", and feature-vectors need to be extracted from each document. Those feature vectors are self-organized into clusters, and the clusters are passed through a series of rebalancing operations. Etc etc etc etc. So I put together a plan, with about 30 unique development/deployment tasks, each with time estimates. The first stage of development -- ignoring some advanced features that we'd like to have in the long-term, but aren't high enough priority to make it into the development schedule yet -- is slated for about two months worth of work. (Keep in mind that I already have a working prototype, so the final implementation is significantly simpler than if the project was starting from scratch.) My manager said the plan looked good to him, but he asked if I could reorganize the tasks into user stories, for a few reasons: (1) our project management software is totally organized around user stories; (2) all of our scheduling is based on fitting entire user stories into sprints, rather than individually scheduling tasks; (3) other teams -- like the web developers -- have made great use of agile methodologies, and they've benefited from modelling all the software features as user stories. So I created a user story at the top level of the project: As a user of the system, I want to search for items by category, so that I can easily find the most relevant items within a huge, complex database. Or maybe a better top-level story for this feature would be: As a content editor, I want to automatically create categorical designations for the items in our database, so that customers can easily find high-value data within our huge, complex database. But that's not the real problem. The tricky part, for me, is figuring out how to create subordinate user stories for the rest of the machine learning architecture. Case in point... I know that the algorithm requires two major architectural subdivisions: (A) training, and (B) classification. And I know that the training portion of the architecture requires construction of a cluster-space. All the Agile Development literature I've read seems to indicate that a user story should be the "smallest possible implementation that provides any business value". And that makes a lot of sense when designing a piece of end-user software. Start small, and then incrementally add value when users demand additional functionality. But a cluster-space, in and of itself, provides zero business value. Nor does a crawler, or a feature-extractor. There's no business value (not for the end-user, or for any of the roles internal to the company) in a partial system. A trained cluster-space is only possible with the crawler and feature extractor, and only relevant if we also develop an accompanying classifier. I suppose it would be possible to create user stories where the subordinate components of the system act as the users in the stories: As a supervised-learning cluster-space construction routine, I want to consume data from a feature extractor, so that I can exist. But that seems really weird. What benefit does it provide me as the developer (or our users, or any other stakeholders, for that matter) to model my user stories like that? Although the main story can be easily divided along architectural-component boundaries (crawler, trainer, classifier, etc), I can't think of any useful decomposition from a user's perspective. What do you guys think? How do you plan Agile user stories for sophisticated, indivisible, non-user-facing components?

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